Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

I decided this was a soup kind of day. Weather was crummy, but wasn’t real cold out. Rained most of they day. So, nothing like smelling a simmering soup all afternoon. It turned out real good, too; put Campbell’s to shame. Weight Watcher’s points: 2 per 1 cup.

I use a product called “Better than Bouillon” base for my beef broth. I took 2 quarts of water, mixed in 4 tablespoons of the base until it was dissolved. This formed the broth nicely.

Like all soups, there is a lot of sodium. If you are following a low sodium diet, a low sodium bouillon might work better, if there is one available. Cans of beef broth, as well as bouillon cubes would also work well.

For years I have just followed the recipe from the Libby’s can of pumpkin for the pie. It always turns out good, but I run into a problem. My stoneware pie pans are deeper than the average, and takes about half again as much pie filling as a regular glass pie pan. A 15 oz can of pumpkin is not enough, and the recipe on the 29 oz can makes too much. So, yesterday I got to tinkering with the recipe and came up with this. It was just enough for the deep pie pan.

1 29oz can of pumpkin

1 cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

½ tsp cloves

1 can evaporated milk

½ cup half-n-half (or ½ cup milk)

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Pour into pan with prepared pie crust. Bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn oven down to 350 degrees and bake for another 80 minutes. Let cool before serving.

I decided to try out a chicken enchilada recipe. This turned out very good. Weight watchers points: 3 per enchilada; 6 per serving.

2 chicken breasts (4 halves)

¾ cup broccoli, finely cut

1 stalk celery, thinly sliced

½ medium onion, finely diced (about ½ cup)

1 can lowfat cream of chicken soup

1 can lowfat cream of celery soup

1 can (4 oz) mild diced green chiles

¾ cup nonfat milk

12 corn tortillas

½ cup shredded cheese

Instructions:

Boil chicken breasts until cooked through. Let cool and shred. Steam broccoli and celery until tender. (You can use them raw, but it will make the enchilada crunchy.) Mix chicken, broccoli, celery, onion, soups, chiles, and milk together. Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. Fill tortillas with chicken mixture and place in pan. If any mixture is left, spread evenly over top of tortillas. Cover evenly with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Makes 6 servings.

Now keep in mind that I refuse to eat liver. Ever. I made this for Karen and Skyler. They both said it was very good. Weight watchers points: 6.

1 pound sliced beef liver

3 tbsp vegetable oil or light olive oil

1/3 cup white flour

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

½ tsp ground black pepper

½ tsp thyme

1 ½ cups water

2 tbsp ketchup

Instructions:

Heat oil in fry pan over medium heat. Use a pan that you can cover. Mix flour and pepper. Dredge liver in flour mixture. Brown in oil, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Add sliced onions and sauté 3-4 minutes. Mix ketchup and thyme with water. Return liver to pan. Cover and simmer 20 to 30 minutes. Serve with favorite sides.

Mmmm…had these for dinner tonight. This recipe is well suited for food storage items, except for the meat, which is not really needed. I used dry beans and black-eyed peas. I put all of them in the pressure cooker for 15 minutes. You could soak them overnight and cook them the next day. If you use canned beans, put the juice from the can in the crock pot and don’t add water. This makes about four 1-cup servings. Weight Watchers points: 4 per 1/2 cup

½ cup black beans

½ cup kidney beans

½ cup great northern or white beans

½ cup black-eyed peas

1 medium onion, minced (could use dried onions)

1 cloves minced garlic

2 tbsp prepared mustard

¼ cup ketchup

½ cup brown sugar

2 tbsp vinegar

1 – 1 ½ cups water

Optional:

8 oz finely cubed ham, or

8 oz cooked ground beef

Cook beans by either pressure cooking or soaking overnight and cooking the next day on the stove.

Place cooked (or canned) beans and all other ingredients in crock pot. Stir well and cook on low for 6 hours, stirring once every other hour.

Here’s a recipe for homemade Wheat Bread that I have refined pretty well. This makes 2 loaves and works very well in the Kitchen Aid mixer. If you don’t have a mixer, you can mix it up and knead it by hand. It will turn out just as well. Weight Watchers points: 1 per 1/2″ slice.

4 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups white flour

4 tablespoons gluten

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons sugar

4 ½ teaspoons yeast

¼ cup melted butter

¼ cup milk

4 tablespoons honey (or molasses)

Mix warm water, sugar and yeast in a glass container (I use a 1 quart glass measuring bowl). Stir occasionally. Let sit until water starts to become foamy.

Meanwhile, place wheat and white flour, gluten and salt in the mixing bowl. Attach bread hook and run mixer slowly for a minute to mix the flour mixture.

Melt butter in microwave. Add milk to the butter.

When the yeast mixture is ready, pour it and the butter/milk mixture into the mixer bowl. Add the honey.

Run mixer on slow (about 3 to 4 on the lever). You may need to use a spatula to push down the flour on the sides of the bowl. Run mixer for about 10 minutes. The bread dough will mix and soon become a glob being pushed around. Add small amounts of flour if the mixture looks too wet, or water a teaspoon at a time if too dry. I like my bread dough to be slightly on the wet side. Monitor the mixer to be sure the motor does not overheat. This is hard work for it.

After 10 minutes or so, turn mixer off, remove hook from dough, remove bowl from base and place it in a warm, quiet location. Cover with a dishtowel. Allow to rise for 45 – 60 minutes, until top of dough is level with the top of the bowl. Remove towel, punch down, lift and move around until dough is compacted. Cover with towel again and allow to rise until level with bowl top again, about 45 minutes.

Punch dough. Spray hands lightly with cooking spray and rub well. Remove dough and place on a cutting board. Carefully cut into two even sizes. Shape each piece into a rectangular shape and place in a prepared bread pan. Cover pans with towel and allow to rise until dough is about 1/2” over the pan size. Heat oven to 350 degrees. When oven is hot, carefully place pans in oven and bake for 30 minutes. When done, remove pans, and coat top with butter. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Shake bread out of pans onto a large clean towel. Wrap loaves carefully, covering all surfaces. Allow bread to cool completely. Remove from towel and store in a bread bad or ziplock bag. Ready to slice and eat!

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to large frying pan (same pan that meat is in if adding meat) and sauté garlic and onions for 2 or 3 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until broccoli is starting to become tender. Add pasta and Italian seasoning. Add the remaining olive oil if mixture seems too dry. Cook over medium heat for another 3 or 4 minutes. If tomatoes are used, add in the last 2 minutes to heat, but not cook tomatoes. Serve and enjoy.Variations: Alter vegetable amounts or types to suit your tastes. Different spices may be used as well. Hot peppers will add zip! This is a very flexible recipe.